


Good Night’s Sleep

by Eleftheria_F



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Horror, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:26:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29645730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleftheria_F/pseuds/Eleftheria_F
Summary: Floch resorts to a last and dangerous option when he finds out Eren’s nightmares are worse than they sound.
Relationships: Floch Forster/Eren Yeager
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter One

The first time Floch had witnessed it, it shook him to his core. It burned an image into his brain he didn’t think he’d ever get out, not as long as he lived. He could still hear the screaming, he could still see the raw panic on his best friend’s face. Floch began to get scared too, but it was absolutely nothing compared how to Eren felt. 

If it was anybody else having nightmares at sixteen then Floch would’ve laughed at them. But this was no ordinary nightmare. It was complete terror. 

“Eren! Eren please wake up!” He remembered yelling over the cries of the brunette. Shaking his shoulders, he had continued to try get Eren to wake up. Floch remembered how Eren clung to his shoulders, as if Floch let him go then he’d fall forever. 

It was completely unexpected, which resulted in a long talk with Eren that night. After Floch had wrapped him in a warm blanket on his living room couch, as well as get him some warm tea from Floch’s kitchen, he was told what was going on with Eren. What skeleton he had kept in the closet from most of his friends. 

Eren had explained that he had these nightmares ever since he was ten. It was after his mother passed away, there had been a big house fire. Floch knew about that, it was all over the news. But he didn’t know about the reoccurring nightmares that casted a dark shadow over Eren’s life, that had done ever since he was little. 

“These big- big giants would chase me through the streets.” Eren had managed to splutter out, his shaky hands holding the plain white mug full of tea. “It sounds stupid,” he mumbled with a sad laugh. “But it’s fucking terrifying. They won’t go away. They never have.” 

Floch didn’t think it sounded stupid. This was Eren, he couldn’t imagine Eren overreacting about something like nightmares. This had to be truly awful, truly horrifying. “It’s not stupid.” He remembered whispering, a sympathetic smile on his face. “Have you spoke to anyone about it.”

Doctors and psychologists had apparently tried to help him, giving him things from therapy to medication. Nothing had seemed to properly work, it had made the dreams more mild for a period of time before they just got more intense. 

“There’s nothing really I can do about it.” Eren finally had concluded, shrugging as he put the mug down. “Guess I just have to sit tight and bare it.”

Floch couldn’t stand the thought. 

The following week, the redhead had studied hard for some way to get rid of these constant night terrors. Once he had read his way through the local library, he couldn’t find anything, he reached out to somebody who he thought might be able to help. 

Floch found himself sat in an attic, on a furry rug, with Mikasa Ackerman. His body was trembling slightly by how creeped out he was about this place. It was only candle-lit, and there was books and skulls and jars of some weird substances laying around. He didn’t dare question it. 

Even the fellow student was scaring him. She wore all black clothing and her makeup was done with a lot of eyeliner. As she got closer to Floch, he could see the many symbols that hung from her neck on chains. Overall, it just made him nervous. He didn’t dare ask what all this was, he assumed some satanic ritual shit, but he wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t desperate. 

“And he’s tried everything else, right?” Mikasa clarified as she knelt down in front of Floch, dropping a book on the ground. The redhead flinched at the noise, never had he felt so pathetic. He nodded in response, his eyes studying the piercings on her ears. He thought if he made eye contact with her he might cry. 

Sighing, Mikasa then revealed two jars that were in a small, wooden box. She had used an old-fashioned key from her pocket. Floch questioned if all this was necessary or if it was to just be aesthetic. “Both of you can drink one each, then just fall asleep next to each other. It should work. Make sure no one else is in the house, don’t have any interruptions. Don’t let anyone drink this, it could lead to... accidents.”

Floch made a mental note at each instruction, not wanting to mess this up. He wouldn’t be surprised if it released some sort of demon that would gobble him up, it was certainly the vibes he was getting from this. “Okay.” He replied quietly, his eyes studying the two jars. It looked disgusting.

“I really hope it works.” Floch mumbled as he watched Mikasa wrap the jars carefully in a cloth and hand it over. “It’s vital you believe in it. If you just do as I say it will work, I’ve done this before with someone.” She explained, eyeing how Floch put the jars in his bag, wrapping a hoodie around them so they didn’t break. 

“How was it?” Was Floch’s next question, asking it quickly. He was desperate to know. 

“It was effective,” was the other teen’s response, sitting back as she adjusted the long, jet black skirt she wore. “A friend was having trouble with some trauma, I joined her and helped defeat what was in the dream. She definitely calmed down after.” 

“Just make sure you don’t freak yourself out over Eren’s dreams, though. It will look extremely real, he doesn’t need you coming out with night terrors after.” Mikasa added, which did add to Floch’s anxiety. “Keep in mind it’s just a dream, it can’t hurt you.” She continued, noticing how Floch seemed tense about the whole situation. 

“Whatever you do, don’t leave his side.”

After the whole interaction, Floch walked home on the more lit side of the street. He hoped Eren would try this with him and didn’t see it as pushy or invasive. He knew the dreams would be terrifying, it was giant monsters after all, but if it did actually work then he’d do it so Eren could finally get good night’s sleep.


	2. Chapter Two

“I don’t think this is going to work.” Eren mumbled, studying the small jar of what looked like mud. “Are you sure this isn’t a prank?” He quizzed, looking at Floch suspiciously. 

It was late at night, Floch had invited Eren over again. It took a bit of persuading, Eren hated staying over at other people’s homes for obvious reasons. He wouldn’t have these night terrors every night, but the chance of it happening was a lot.

“No, she seems really sure of all this stuff,” Floch answered, sitting cross legged with Eren on his bed. Usually he’d make a make-shift bed for Eren on the floor, but there was no need for that tonight. He remembered Mikasa’s instructions, they must sleep close to each other. 

With a sigh, Eren opened up the jar and sniffed at it’s contents. “Eugh! That’s disgusting.” He exclaimed, grimacing as he placed the cork back on the jar. “You expect me to drink this?” 

“If you want these nightmares to go away.” Floch responded with a frown, he knew it sounded gross but he was desperate to help Eren. 

“How will it even work? Will I really see you in my dream? The real you?” Eren queried, but Floch barely knew himself. The redhead shrugged, it was hard to believe after all. “Mikasa said she’s done it herself. You should’ve seen her attic, I think this is legit.”

“How will this even help?” Eren asked, which threw Floch off guard slightly. “If it does work, what do we actually do?” He was confused on how even if Floch could enter his dream, how it would help. “You can’t defeat them, Floch. It’s horrible.”

The redhead shrugged and leaned back. “Maybe you just need to overcome it or some movie shit like that. Y’know, stop being scared of it? What else can you do?” Floch knew he didn’t have many options left, if he had tried therapy and medicine after all. 

There was the doubt that Eren would even have the same nightmare, what if it was one of his quiet nights? Then again, he was feeling anxious by thinking about it so much. It was almost impossible not to dream about it now. 

“Okay,” Eren concluded, nodding his head. “I trust you. What’s the worst that could happen?” He asked rhetorically, even though he was nervous to face these demonic sounding creatures once more. It’d be nice having someone else there too, someone who could understand what he went through every night. Someone that wouldn’t underestimate how awful these dreams were once they’d seen it.

Floch smiled reassuringly and headed for the light switch, flicking it off. He was glad his parents wouldn’t be in for another week, it’d be bad if they found Floch and Eren asleep with some weird muddy substance nearby. Call it bad parenting but Floch liked the personal space when they left.

“Do we drink the whole thing?” Eren asked as Floch climbed in beside him. “How do we know when we’ve drunk enough?”

“I wouldn’t drink all of it, incase we need more later.” Floch advised, taking the cork off the top of the jar. He felt himself gag a little at the smell, but forced himself to do this. “Ready?”

Both teens took a swig from the jar, the taste being absolutely revolting. As their eyes teared up they managed to swallow a mouthful, it felt like they were swallowing knives. Floch instantly coughed, shoving the jar away on the bedside table. He made sure to put the cork in so it didn’t spill.

“So, should we just fall asleep?” Floch asked rather cluelessly, watching as Eren put his jar out the way too. The taste of mud and salt was still evident on the redhead’s tongue, but he wasn’t sure if he could wash it down with water. 

The brunette shrugged and pulled the covers over himself, switching off the lamp next to him. “I guess so.” He responded, closing his eyes over. Eren was feeling nervous about entering the dream world once more that had haunted him for years, even if Floch was there.

Crawling in beside him, Floch felt his cheeks tint red at the fact he was so close to Eren like this. He was grateful for the fact the lights were off, his face wouldn’t be all that visible. “I’m sure this’ll go fine.” He whispered to Eren assuringly, leaning against the pillows and sighing. Floch felt a bit of anxiety himself but remembered that he had to do this for Eren. 

He recalled how horrible Eren seemed because of the dream, he didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone in such a state before. Floch remembered what Mikasa said, how she warned him to stay by Eren. He couldn’t stand the idea of getting lost in this nightmare anyway. 

The anxiety radiating off of Eren only made him feel more scared, preventing him from falling asleep straight away. Eren was the first one to properly fall asleep, Floch following behind within minutes. 

A harsh light bet down on the redhead’s face, making him grown and cover his eyes. His arm fell over his face, avoiding the sunlight that managed to hurt his eyes even when he had them closed. The anxiety was still inside him though, confusing him. Floch sat up, wondering where the hell he was. He never usually woke up feeling so nervous so something was seriously wrong.

“Floch? Are you okay?”

Floch watched as his best friend knelt down in front of him, holding his shoulders. His heart skipped a beat at the sudden contact, a smile appearing on his face. If Eren was here then he shouldn’t start to worry.

“Shit, you’re here. Is this actually you?” Eren asked in disbelief, first pinching himself then pinching Floch. “It worked?! I can’t believe it. This is really you?” It felt unreal that Eren was sharing this experience with someone else, after so long of him being alone in this town finally someone he knew and could communicate with.

Eren grew confused when he didn’t get a response from Floch, now second guessing if it worked. He watched as the redhead stood up, staring at Eren as if he was a ghost. “Hey, hey you okay?” He asked, feeling unsettled at Floch’s weird behaviour.

“This doesn’t feel right.” Floch whispered, reaching out and feeling at Eren’s face and hair. “This is a dream but- why does it feel so real? This isn’t how dreams feel!” He exclaimed in a panic, moving away from the frozen Eren and feeling at the wall.

Every single one of his senses worked as normal, which wasn’t common whatsoever in dreams. Floch stared at the bright blue sky, the perfect shade of blue. The soft clouds that flew over seemed nothing out of the ordinary. The town seemed like an average town, a cobblestone path with houses on each side of the street. It seemed rural, rather old fashioned.

“This feels too real.” Floch whispered, hearing himself perfectly fine. It was then when he heard screaming, making his hands fly over his ears. The memory of how scared Eren got when experiencing this dream appeared in his mind, he knew things were about to get bad.


	3. Chapter Three

Everything in the town seemed peaceful, a place not tainted by any awful horrors of the world. There was markets where people stood at their stalls selling all sorts of luxuries. The smell of fresh bread and baked goods filled the streets, enchanting any passerby to stop and purchase one of the treats.

Even the weather was beautiful, the sun beaming down on the happy townspeople. Unsuspecting townspeople, as Eren knew exactly what was going to happen in a matter of minutes.

Despite the brunette’s attempt at subtly, Floch was another story. The teen roamed around, his hand brushing against the wall. He smelt the air, listened to the chatter, saw the browns and beige colours surrounding him. To the people who noticed he looked absolutely crazy, but Eren was confused.

“What do you mean, this is real? I don’t understand.” Eren pressed on, following the panicky male around the town. “It’s a dream, Floch.” He reminded, not understanding what Floch meant at all.

“Listen,” Floch suddenly said seriously, clasping his hands on Eren’s shoulders. Eren had never seen him like this. “Dreams aren’t supposed to be like this. They’re supposed to be random, they’re supposed to make sense. You shouldn’t be able to smell things, not like when you’re awake. Do you understand?”

He continued when Eren shook his head. “Ugh. Dreams don’t usually have a balance of your senses. Sometimes it’s bright colours and no noise. You shouldn’t have a conscience. It isn’t supposed to be this real!” Floch exclaimed, staring around once more. “These people are normal! Dreams aren’t anything like this. Most of all, you don’t usually meet other people! This has perfect scenery! It seems like a totally normal place!”

Eventually Eren had to cut him off, hushing him when people began to whisper and point. “Oh, what does it matter?! They’re not real anyway! You’re not real!” Floch had yelled at the people, who seemed confused and rather pissed. Before he could get another word out he had been dragged off away from the public.

“Dude, cut it out. Freaking everyone else out doesn’t help.” Eren warned, pulling the male behind a house. “I’ve tried talking to them before. A lot. They either just say your crazy or start panicking. There’s no point in causing more chaos.” He lectured, recalling back to times he had interacted with the other people in the dream.

It hadn’t went well at all. It was like he was talking to normal humans who had their own conscience. Sometimes Eren worried that these were actual people, stuck in an endless loop of Eren’s nightmares in which they could never escape. The whole idea made his heart thump faster when he thought about it, it genuinely terrified him. 

Eren didn’t really dream of anything else, his mind was too busy with this. He didn’t understand what Floch meant at first, as he’d never had a normal dream. Eren wasn’t fully aware dreams were supposed to be full of nonsense and make zero sense. Most people didn’t have control over what they did in their dreams, it was like watching from a third person party.

But this wasn’t a game, neither of them were spectating. 

“What are we supposed to do?! Just sit and wait to die?!” Floch questioned, the fear evident on his face. “Just calm down! You’re freaking me out too!” Despite how often this happened to Eren, how often he experienced this, it still terrified him to this day. 

“Don’t you think I’ve tried to fight this?! I’ve went through this almost every damn day since I was young!” Eren didn’t mean to take his anger and frustration out on Floch, after all it was valid for the redhead to be so scared.

Floch remembered why he was there. He took a deep, shaky breath as he tried to process all that was going on.

“Okay, okay I’m sorry.” He mumbled, looking around. “What’s the plan?”

Eren sighed. “Nothing works. You can’t fight these things, Floch. You just have to die, wake up, then pray you don’t have the same dream the next night.” He whispered, walking out of the alleyway. Eren seemed more disappointed and sad than scared now.

“I just want someone to see it.” Eren hadn’t really had a clue what to do with someone else in this weird dream. Or now he was wondering if it was some alternate reality. “What did you want from this? Why did you even do it?”

Catching up beside him as they headed towards the market again, Floch was unsure what to say. “I just wanted to help. Not out of pity or anything, but it just seemed horrible.” He explained, glancing away awkwardly in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

“I don’t have any plans on how to fight this, or how to make the giants go away. I’m sorry.” Floch apologised, feeling as though he might have made a bad choice. By somehow entering Eren’s mind, or whatever it was, maybe he had just made things worse for Eren.

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard in the distance. Eren’s eyes widened in fear, despite how he expected this. He grabbed onto Floch’s sleeve and began dashing back through the streets. Away from the demeaning screams.

“I’ve done this for so long, I know where there’s less of them.” Eren shouted as he pulled Floch along beside him. “We’ll survive a little bit longer over here!”

If Floch was conscious enough in his own dreams to do what he liked, most commonly called lucid dreaming, he’d start flying around or fighting whatever monsters he faced. But this wasn’t a lucid dream and these weren’t just monsters. These were terrifying demons, probably from some hell-ish world that him and Eren had no clue of. 

“Don’t look at them! Just stay with me!”

Floch recalled how he had to stay close to Eren, so it’d be dangerous to peer around so he could see one of these things. He saw lots of figures in the distance in front of him, but none that had already entered the town. Eren seemed adamant for him not to turn around, so he didn’t. 

“Why don’t you just die before they ever get to you?!” Floch queried as he was pulled through the front door of an empty house, trying to figure out a way Eren could escape this. “Why don’t we just kill our selves before we’re eaten?”

As he caught his breath, Eren closed the door behind them and leaned against a wall. “I’ve tried. There’s nothing around here, no guns or knives or rope. It’s like this place was designed for me to just suffer. I can’t do anything Floch, seriously.” 

It hurt Floch to hear him sound so hopeless, he probably thought this would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Why didn’t the doctors do anything? This really isn’t normal.” Floch felt hesitant to be shooting so many questions at Eren, he was sure this was the last thing the teen wanted to be doing right now.

Eren shrugged. “They just kept trying medication, or therapy. All they said is it was night terrors, that they’d probably go away.”

The other teen doubted Eren had very good doctors. “This is really bad. I don’t understand how all this could happen...” Floch trailed off, taking a seat at the nearby table. “Who lives here?”

“Doesn’t matter. It’ll be trampled on soon. I prefer that death than to being eaten.”

Shivers went down Floch’s spine as he stared up at the roof. “Is the dream the same every time? Is it just repetitive?”

“Kinda,” Eren answered, taking a seat beside Floch. “If I don’t interact with anyone at all then it just repeats. If I get a giant to chase me, or start scaring the townspeople, I guess their actions and words change. Still the same outcome though. If I drag someone away with me they’ll still die, just later on. Their family might go looking for them, then get found by a giant earlier and die. Just depends.”

Eren could see the wheels turning in Floch’s head, trying to comprehend what Eren was saying.

“I think I get it.” Floch finally replied, his brows still knitted together in confusion. “The nightmare will always start the same way, but you have some influence. But not enough to save anyone?” He asked, but it was pointless now. Floch could hear large footsteps surrounding them, the panic setting in once more.

He finally realised he might not be able to help Eren. “So I can’t do anything? I can’t magically help you overcome your fear, help you God in your own world? This was all for nothing?”

“No, Floch. If we both just die and wake up, at least you can understand this. I’m grateful you tried to help.” Eren’s words were sincere although tainted with fear. His hands began to tremble as he knew it was almost time. The time he dreaded almost every night of his life, since he was young, and the time he believed he’d dread until he was old and grey.

Hell, maybe even past that. Eren worried that even when he died, this might not ever stop. That was the scariest thing.


	4. Chapter Four

Nothing could prepare Floch for what he saw in those next moments.

As he glanced out the window, he could see the townspeople fleeing through the streets. They looked absolutely terrified, screaming and crying and clutching onto each other. Children were dragged along by their parents in an attempt to keep them safe, but Floch already knew what the future had in store for them. What the future would always have in store for them. Apparently there was nothing he could do.

Floch wandered the kitchen, not getting much of a conversation out of Eren. The brunette just had his head buried in his crossed arms, trying to block out the noise. Floch rummaged through the cupboards even though he knew there would be nothing in there to help them. 

The town seemed old, like it was created maybe a century ago. There was no microwave or even any familiar food packages. Just tin cans, loafs of bread and vegetables. He doubted whoever lived here had very interesting dinners.

When the first sight Floch got of the giants occurred he wanted to do nothing more than run away. A large, disgusting foot stomped right in front of the window. The whole ground shook, glasses falling from shelves. Floch physically couldn’t breathe for a few seconds, fear taking over his body. 

As the foot passed, but the ground still shook, Floch felt himself collapse against the kitchen counter. They were extremely tall giants. It was hard for Floch to convince himself that it was all a dream, it didn’t feel like a dream whatsoever. It was so real, that was the part that terrified him.

“Hey.” A soft voice coaxed, pulling Floch back into control a bit. “Just come sit down with me.” Eren had rose from his chair, now standing in front of Floch. “It’ll be over soon.” Eren added, finding it weirdly comforting he wasn’t the only scared person here. After suffering alone almost every night with this reoccurring nightmare, it was good to have someone with him.

Floch didn’t seem to calm even at Eren’s words. He was struggling to breathe, only short and audible gasps coming from his lips. Stepping away from Eren, he headed for the door. “C-Come on.” He muttered, stuttering his words out. This felt like waiting for death, he was no longer processing this as a dream. 

Mikasa’s words rang in his ears. 

Whatever you do, don’t leave his side.

He wasn’t able to bare the thought of being crushed to death, his mind was just thinking to flight. Floch had to run, maybe he could get away from these giant monsters. Even though Eren was shouting at him to get inside he ran out the door, bolting down the street. Since he was already out of breath it was exhausting to run, but the adrenaline from the fact he could get eaten at any moment kept him going.

Not for long though. Before Floch could even reach the end of that street he was yanked forcefully into an alleyway. As his body hit the wall he heard vulgar language being muttered by the culprit. 

Eren had pulled him into the alleyway, out of sight from any giants for now. 

“What the fuck are you doing?! I told you we can’t outrun these things! I’ve tried for _years_ Floch! _Years!_ We could get ripped apart any minute!” Eren half whispered-half yelled, clutching the other’s shoulders in both anger and panic. 

His anger melted away when he saw the state that Floch was in. He was just as scared as Eren was, that realisation was finally sinking in. Eren remembered that his friend hadn’t experienced anything like this before, it was valid for him to feel terrified and run away. The brunette frowned, pulling his hands away from Floch’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” Eren whispered as he leaned against the alley wall, giving up. “I shouldn’t of dragged you into this. I should’ve said no. This isn’t your battle.” He murmured, looking at the other trembling body. “You’ll wake up soon. Then everything will be okay.” It wasn’t only a reminder for Floch, but a reminder for Eren too. 

Despite the urge to run or hide, Floch simply stayed put. He moved closer to the other, his hand grasping onto Eren’s sleeve. “Mhmm.” There was so many emotions running through his head he couldn’t think straight. There was the guilt clouding round him, reminding him that he was too weak to help Eren. Too pathetic. 

Fear made his heart race and his body shake, depriving him of just a moment’s peace. Disappointment that this is what his plan came to. Him and Eren dying. 

Once again, the ground began to quiver in time to the steps of the monstrous demons who continued to terrorise the town. With no purpose except destruction. This one was the size of the houses, Eren was familiar with what some of them looked like. This was disgusting. Fat hung off it’s body like the size of a pig, long greasy hair falling from its enormous head. It’s huge, beady eyes blankly scanned the town in search of it’s next victim.

As it walked past, Floch swore he was going to pass out. For a moment everything felt dizzy, the world spinning from underneath him. The redhead stumbled against the wall, his nails painfully scratching at the concrete wall in an attempt to stay upright. It was the most hideous and petrifying thing he had ever seen.

Now Eren was unsure what to do, too. The giant was coming towards them, he could either run with Floch or let them both get eaten. Usually he’d give up early, just try and get it over and done with. This time that feeling wasn’t evident in him. He wanted to save Floch, to protect him. The idea of Floch getting eaten just made him sick, more sick than how he’d ever feel baring these nightmares alone.

As the hand, bigger than both of them, reached for Floch he decided to make a move. Instead of letting them both get eaten, he grabbed Floch’s dark blue shirt and tossed him to the side. His gaze was on the other teen as he fell against the other wall, but now out of reach from the giant.

“Just run!” Eren screamed at the top of his lungs, feeling long and fat hands wrap around him. He gasped at the sudden lack of oxygen as he was gripped tightly, struggling to escape. Even though he knew it was pointless to try escape the grasp of the beast Eren still wiggled his arms and kicked his legs and cried out for whatever was above the clouds to take pity on him and make this stop.

Whatever was above the clouds never did. 

The strict words Mikasa instructed were now thrown out the window. As Floch heard his best friend get eaten alive, having absolutely no clue how to help, he instead dashed through the alleyway and out the other way. Maybe he had to break Mikasa’s rules in order to save Eren. Maybe this way things could finally be okay for Eren.

When Floch was sprinting he was constantly reminding himself that Eren was alive, they were both just asleep. He had to take a boost of confidence, just remember that it’s all a dream and the worst that could happen to him was a couple moments of pain. Then he’d wake up next to Eren and everything would be fine.

The anxiety that he’d never wake up hit him though. Questions ran through his head as he turned the corner, dashing down a seemingly empty street.

It began to feel like he was running on air. Not that Floch was light on his feet, but like the road was becoming thinner. As he stared down at what was supposed to be cobblestone road, instead he was face to face with the fading rocks. His eyes widened and stared around in fright, running to grab onto the nearest window to avoid literally falling through the ground.

When he tried to clutch the window sill his hands just went right through it. Confusion now filled his brain as he fell through the house, which was now transparent and fading away. Everything was fading away. A wave of relief flooded over him as he saw the town quickly disappear.

Was he finally waking up now?


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where the horror aspect begins to get a bit more severe, so if you have any triggers to horror or existential things, I'd be cautious reading on. If you'd like more details before you continue, you can contact me directly on eleftheria__f on instagram.

Hazel eyes flew open in surprise as a weird feeling of comfort washed over him. Floch sat up, feeling the weight of a blanket cover his body. He was no longer in that nightmare, he was no longer trapped there fearing for his life.

The familiarity of his own room assured him that he had indeed woke up. He looked around at the plain walls and clean floor that was shockingly tidy, he had cleaned it before Eren came to save himself from embarrassment. 

Then he remembered. Eren.

His head whipped around to face what should be the brunette beside him, but instead the other side of the bed was empty. 

“Eren?” He called out, his voice hoarse from just waking up. Floch pushed himself up against the pillows, now wondering where the other went. Eren should of woken up beside him, but he was gone.

Now that Floch was more aware of his surroundings, he realised that the jar full of disgusting mysteries had vanished too. He remembered leaving it on the bedside table, now he just stared at nothing.

His first assumption was that Eren had left to go wash his face or get a drink of water. Floch sighed and rubbed at his head, now noticing that his hands were still shaky. The nightmare that he had endured now filled his mind, how Eren had saved him from being eaten by the giant. Floch thought about how terrified the other teen must have been, it was something Eren had to endure a lot. 

If only he had stayed with Eren in the house, waiting for their demise. Being trampled on and crushed by a roof sounded much better than being eaten alive, Eren clearly knew best on this subject. 

“Eren?!” He shouted louder, pushing himself from the bed. He definitely regretted how he ran like a coward instead of following his initial plan. Floch was supposed to save Eren, to rid him of these horrific dreams. Now he just felt like he had added to the trauma.

Staggering through his room and out the door, he half expected Eren to be in the bathroom dumping the contents of the jars given by Mikasa. But as he wandered his two-story house, he couldn’t find any trace of Eren.

After double checking every room in the house, Floch headed back to his room in defeat. He planned to grab his phone and call the other, predicting that Eren had just went home. It saddened him slightly, the worry that Eren was perhaps mad at him now interrupting the memories of the giants.

Although, when he entered his room Floch realised he wasn’t alone. 

There stood a large figure, staring out of the window. It was cloaked, not letting Floch catch a glimpse of its face. The light intensity in the room decreased, a weird smoke-appearing gas surrounding the man. 

It was far too tall to be Eren. Floch knew this.

Despite that, the redhead forced a laugh and backed away towards the door. “Hey, I was looking for you.” It was stupid to have false hope that this was Eren, deep down Floch knew. Nonetheless he felt too frightened to confront the stranger, instead he headed for the door. Mumbling out words out of pure fear, having no idea who this man in his house was. Was he here to kill Floch? An intruder? It looked like something way more sinister than that.

The next thing to happen was like something out of a horror movie. It only took up a couple seconds in the scene but it was those seconds that had the most impact. It was those seconds that the audience would remember as they tried to sleep that night.

The hood of the cloak fell, revealing a revolting pale face. Its thin lips lifted into an evil grin, blood-stained teeth being flashed. Its eyes were hollow, just completely black. Yet Floch knew it was staring right at him.

Before the redhead could even process what he was seeing, the demonic-looking stranger flew towards him. A deafening and high pitched laugh emerged from it, filling Floch’s ears. The teen didn’t even have time to react, he just stood frozen as the being opened its mouth. Suddenly, Floch let out a scream as the monster jumped towards him.

The blanket flew off of Floch as he sat upright, still screaming in fear. His arms instantly covered his face even though he knew it wouldn’t protect him from whatever monster was in front of him. He had felt a sudden jolt of pain, extreme agony, before he felt himself sit up. The pain was gone.

After a few seconds of protecting his face, Floch realised nothing was there. Hesitantly, he pulled his arms away from his face. As he peaked one eye open he was met with the same sight he had minutes ago. An empty room. His room.

Sighing in relief, Floch wiped the sweat beading from his forehead. “Shit.” He cursed with an awkward laugh, hearing his heart beat ferociously in his chest. ‘It was just a dream.’ He thought to himself, trying to stop panicking so much about the terrifying man that had just jumped at him. No, it didn’t even seem like a man. It was a terrifying creature. It had felt so real to Floch, he couldn’t believe his own mind made that up.

“Are you oka-“ Floch began to ask, turning to what should be Eren next to him. He hummed in surprise at the empty space beside him before his eyes widened in realisation. “Eren? Eren?” He started to call, sounding more desperate after each yell of his friend’s name. His eyes scanned the room, everything looked normal. Except the jars were still gone.

Floch pinched himself to see if he was awake, hissing at the slight sting in his skin. He had to be awake, there was no way Floch could experience pain in a dream. But he recalled his time with Eren, how Eren had such a realistic dream. 

His phone. Floch climbed out of bed and dug around his room frantically, looking to call Eren. Maybe he had really just went home this time. Floch believed he couldn’t still be dreaming, it was probably just a misunderstanding.

No matter how much he looked, Floch couldn’t see his phone anywhere. He checked the bedside table, the floor, in every jacket pocket that was in his wardrobe. Doubts began to flood his head but he refused to start panicking now. Questioning what was going on would just freak himself out more, he didn’t want that. 

‘It has to be in the living room.’ Floch thought as he approached his door, his hand reaching out for the handle. He stopped in his tracks when he heard a noise. It was music. At first it sounded light hearted music, like something you’d hear from a carnival. Then it got creepy, the high notes dragging out like the noise of nails against a blackboard. What started as happy singing from a chorus of children became chanting of incoherent words, sending chills down Floch’s spine.

His phone didn’t seem to matter much anymore.


	6. Chapter Six

“Mummy!” A young voice yelled, running down the hallway towards the master bedroom.

The owner of the voice shoved the door open, sprinting to the side of the bed. A woman sat up from it, groaning at the sudden disturbance. Her thin arms stretched over her head, shoving her thick ginger locks away from her face. When she realised what was happening she just smiled.

“Ohh, darling. What’s the matter?”

She watched as the teary child whined and tried to climb into the bed. Lifting the small ginger into the bed, she laughed as he buried himself under the covers. “Did you have a bad dream, Flochie?”

The small ‘hmph’ that came from the now bundle of blankets confirmed her suspicion. 

“They’re not real, baby. You’re okay now.” She assured, pulling the blanket over her head too. “What happened?” She asked, looking at her scared son.

Her hand ruffled the young Floch’s hair sympathetically. “T-There was monsters. They were chasing me.” The child grumbled quietly, almost as if he didn’t want the monsters outside the blanket to hear him. “They can’t get us now, right mummy?” He asked, still frightened by his own mind. 

“Of course not. You’re safe now.”

Floch would give anything to have the safety of that blanket now, feeling certain that the simple fabric could keep all the monsters out.

After hearing the music he had dashed back into the room, diving into the bed and covering his whole body with the duvet. His fingers violently pinched his arms until they were bruising, his heart beat almost as loud as the taunting music.

“Wake up! Wake up!” He screamed at himself, begging his body to stop dreaming this horrifying dream. The sounds of heavy footsteps filled his ears, his eyes squeezing closed tightly in response. “Come on! Wake up! _Please!”_

The redhead did everything he could, from pinching his arm to pulling his hair to slapping his face. It didn’t prevent the demonic monster to swing the door open, the handle slamming into the door. Floch didn’t stop bawling at himself to get out this dream, even though he was beginning to realise it may be out of his control. Hot tears stung his eyes before escaping them, falling down his face. His hands clutched onto the covers that were protecting him, his knuckles bone white from how tightly he was holding on. 

It didn’t stop the monster from ripping them from his hands, completely exposing the teen. Floch’s eyes widened instantly, but he was met with a different sight. Something more horrifying than the last. 

Its face was different this time. Still a horrifying, bloody grin. But this time its lips were bright red, matching the red eye makeup around its revolting yellow eyes. Dark blue tuffs of hair stuck from its bald head, it went with the red and blue clown suit that the thing had on. Floch should’ve guessed from the carnival music.

The monster-clown screamed, louder than Floch was. It was a high-pitched scream, it sounded mocking. Its mouth expanded, revealing knife-sharp teeth from its black gums. Within seconds it jumped forward, much like what it did earlier. The rest of the world went dark, nothing else existed. It was just Floch staring face to face with this demon.

Pain spread through his entire body, starting at his head. Floch cried out, everything going black. He felt his whole body sit up, his hands clutching his face. The room had returned.

‘Oh God, it was just a-‘

Floch froze, too scared to turn to his side. He had woken up in his bed again, about to assure himself that it was all a dream. But this is what had happened last time. He had woken up from the frightening nightmare, only to find himself in the same position. Shaky fingers met his arm, pinching it harshly. The bruises were gone from earlier and he could feel the pain of the pinch. Maybe he was really awake this time. Hope filled his mind as he turned his head, expecting to see Eren waking up by his side.

The hope was quickly drained out of him as he was met with an empty space beside him. His head turned the other way, the jar was gone from the side of the bed. And no phone in sight.

Floch had never wanted anything more in his life. He had never felt such a longing for something so simple like being awake. All the times he had imagined waking up next to Eren was just a stupid crush, but now the idea of doing it was the only thing keeping him sane. He did not want to repeat this dream again. 

Instead of waiting around for the monster to come Floch stood up, grabbing some socks, shoes and a coat. He tried to be as quiet as possible while also being speedy, not wanting to be in this room for another minute.

Pushing the anxiety deep down into his chest, he opened the door handle and swung it open. His eyes were half closed, terrified of being face to face with the demon again. Floch sprinted down the stairs despite the racket that it made and pulled the handle on his front door. It was locked.

“No, no, no.” Floch chanted as his hands reached for the pegs on the wall, the trembling of them making the keys rattle together. As he fished for the front door key he heard the sound of laughing upstairs, it didn’t take a genius to know who it was. 

Finally grabbing the key, he shoved it into the lock and turned it. Floch focused on stopping the shakiness of his hand as he got it in the lock, eventually unlocking the door and opening it. The whole time he just felt like the creature was going to come behind him and grab him. He didn’t dare turn around.

Hurrying out the door, Floch headed down the street in an attempt to find someone. There had to be somebody that could help him, somebody who had a gun or a knife or something. 

Floch headed for the police station that was only a few blocks down. It was scary to think that his unbelievable story may be brushed off, but the comfort of other people who were supposed to protect him may calm him down for the time being. 

The whole world looked the exact same to Floch, except it was completely silent. There was no sign of life anywhere, no people, moving cars or even birds. Floch recalled how he imagined walking the world where no one existed, how he could recklessly drive and raid stores and have the time of his life. It was obviously an unrealistic and stupid idea, but now that it was happening it felt completely different from that.

The male was desperate for human contact, to share the fear and fright with someone. Floch guessed this is how Eren must have felt when Floch stood with him while the giants invaded.

As he sprinted for the police station questions kept invading his mind. He wanted to know what this was. He wanted to know why was he having this terrifyingly real dream, if he was even dreaming or if this was some alternate universe. Floch wanted to know where Eren was. And, most of all, what the hell was that thing.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be updated about every week, so please be patient. ^^


End file.
